My Jewish Abortion

When Sarah Emily Tuttle-Singer found herself unexpectedly pregnant her freshman year at UC Berkeley, she sought help from the Student Health Center – and found it not only there, but also from an unexpected source. “At that moment, I had a grand total of $12.97 to tide me over until December 1^st,” she writes in the blog Kveller: A Jewish Twist on Parenting. “And I knew asking my parents for money would break their hearts.” Tuttle-Singer tells how a Jewish women’s philanthropic organization ensured that she got the services she needed but could not afford, and what the experience taught her about financial and personal responsibility, and the true value of women empowering each other.

Read the article on Kveller

A Happy Mother’s Day at DASH

This post is from the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) blog, and is excerpted here.

Every holiday is worth celebrating, but for the busy families living in DASH programs, holidays sometimes go by unnoticed. Luckily, this Mother’s Day, DASH received generous gifts from local organizations to make the holiday memorable for everyone.

Over the past few years, DASH has undergone many changes. Despite these changes, DASH has always counted on Jewish Women International to make Mother’s Day extraordinary for our residents with their annual donation of flowers and OPI products. This year, residents were particularly delighted by the variety of nail products and beautiful flowers donated. DASH is so grateful for JWI’s continued support in celebrating the courageous women in our programs.

Justice for Working Women

By Miri Cypers, JWI Senior Policy and Advocacy Specialist

My Mom and Dad are the proud parents of three daughters, all pursuing careers in diverse fields, from politics to the arts to the restaurant industry. Despite our different career choices, chances are that we will all face similar struggles in our careers, as will most American women: gender-based wage discrimination. The facts are sobering: today women make up about half of our nation’s workforce but only earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.

According to a fact sheet published by the Center for American Progress, over a 40-year working career, the average woman loses $431,000 as the result of the wage gap. This wage gap exists in all racial and ethnic groups and in every state. On top of that, in a troubled economy where families are increasingly dependent on women’s salaries for financial stability, this is truly debilitating.

The U.S. Congress has passed important laws to address these inequities. From the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed more recently in 2009, Presidents and Members of Congress have led efforts to provide working women with a more equal playing field and the tools to combat wage discrimination. But more must be done and can be done- starting with this Congress.

Recently, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act. This critical legislation will update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act in a few key ways including: barring retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages, putting the Equal Pay Act on equal footing with subsequent civil rights anti-discrimination legislation, requiring employers to justify unequal pay disparities, and strengthening federal outreach to businesses to improve equal pay practices. In the coming weeks, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will bring the Paycheck Fairness Act to the Senate floor. The 55,000 members of Jewish Women International urge every Senator to vote to advance this critical legislation and ensure its timely passage.

This blog is part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

A Set Back in Congress for the Violence Against Women Act

By Ann Rose Greenberg, JWI Marketing Coordinator

Last week, the House of Representatives passed legislation that strips VAWA – the Violence Against Women Act – of protections for our nation’s most vulnerable victims of domestic and sexual violence. Unlike the bipartisan VAWA reauthorization bill that passed last month in the Senate (S. 1925), the House bill (H.R. 4970) excludes critically important provisions that improve access to services for Native American women, immigrants, and LGBT victims of violence. JWI helped lead a national coalition of almost 200 groups who expressed their opposition to the House version of the bill.

The Senate and House bills will now be reconciled in by a joint committee. We can still push to ensure that the final bill will more closely reflect the Senate version. Please reach out to your members of Congress – both in the House and Senate – and express your support for the Senate version of the bill (S. 1925).

You can check how each member voted:
The Senate vote on S. 1925
The House vote on H.R. 4970

Tell them to encourage their party’s leaders to send the President a strong, bipartisan Violence Against Women Act reauthorization bill that protects all vulnerable victims.

Please sign up for JWI’s Advocacy Network to receive email updates and action alerts as the process moves forward.

National Women’s Health Week: Pledging to Take Care of Ourselves

By Ann Rose Greenberg, JWI Marketing Coordinator

“You don’t actually need a Pap test right now, but you’re here and you’re ready, and that’s rare, so let’s just do it,” my doctor said at my last checkup. Now, I’m pretty good at scheduling annual (more-or-less) physicals, and actually going to them, so my being there wasn’t actually rare. What she meant is that far too many women neglect their preventative care and don’t receive the tests they need to ensure their healthy futures.

Women have preventative health care needs , including mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care, reproductive care, and more. High costs, both for insurance and for services not covered by insurance, often prevent women from seeking these services. Additionally, women often oversee the healthcare for their families, and often view their own health care as a lower priority. According to the National Women’s Law Center, 6 out of 10 women do not receive regular Pap smears, even though cervical cancer is highly treatable when identified early. We need to change the way women think about preventative healthcare.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has improved access to women’s preventative care. In addition to services such as mammograms and cervical cancer screenings, the ACA also provides coverage for well-woman visits, contraception, and domestic violence screening, all with no out-of-pocket costs. Taking care of ourselves is now a little bit easier.

This week is National Women’s Health Week, and we recommit to making access to women’s healthcare easy and affordable. This week, we can all pledge to do more to take care of ourselves, and we can encourage the women we love to do the same. It doesn’t have to be a big change; the little ones are important too. We can pledge to get more sleep, to eat healthier foods, to be more active, or to visit the doctor.

What changes do you plan to make?

This blog is part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Glee on Domestic Violence, Part II

By Ann Rose Greenberg, JWI Marketing Coordinator

Two weeks ago on Glee, we found out that Coach Beiste was being abused by her husband, Cooter Menkins. She said she was leaving him, but then went back. This week, the storyline was resolved and Beiste left her abusive relationship, hopefully for good.

Before Beiste was ready to leave her husband, some of the girls in Glee Club confronted her saying they knew she was still in an unsafe situation. Beiste defended her choice saying that Cooter had changed and would not hurt her anymore. As Glee portrayed, the decision to leave the relationship must be made by the victim, and no one can convince her if she’s not ready. Until she’s ready, she will keep trying to convince everyone, as she tries to convince herself, that her abuser has changed.

When Beiste hears Puck talking about how he’s “nothing,” she realizes that by staying in an abusive relationship, she’s treating herself as if she’s “nothing.” She makes the decision to respect herself and leave. When she gets home that night, Cooter, in a classic portrayal of an abuser, is apologetic saying that it won’t happen again. When it becomes clear that her mind is made up, he gets angry and loses control. “Who’s is going to love you like I did,” he asks. And in a powerful moment, Beiste tearfully answers “Me.”

May all women in abusive relationships find the incredible strength they need to leave. And, because we’re talking about Glee, I’ll end with a relevant song from this week’s episode.

Oppose Harmful House Legislation on Domestic Violence

By Ann Rose Greenberg, JWI Marketing Coordinator

The fight to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) continues this week in the House, where VAWA is expected to come up for a floor vote on Wednesday.

Just as victory was won in the Senate and we finally thought that bipartisan arguments about violence against women (which surely should be a non-divisive issue) were behind us, the House Judiciary Committee approved a version of the bill that leaves out essential protections for underrepresented populations. A New York Times editorial, Backward on Domestic Violence, which appeared in today’s paper, discusses the problems with the alternative bill being discussed in the House.

In order to combat violence against women, we must reauthorize the version of VAWA that passed in the Senate. Contact your Member of Congress today to urge them to oppose H.R. 4970 and support a bipartisan VAWA reauthorization bill that closely mirrors S. 1925, strong bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate on April 26, 2012.

Underweight Models

By Lauren Reisig, JWI Intern

Associated Fabrication, “Zaha Cirrus in Vogue” August 23, 2009 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.

The fashion industry prides itself on being the pinnacle of beauty, and they dictate the modern standards of beauty to which women and girls around the world aspire.

When tan was beautiful, city streets became a parade of orange women. When straight hair was the desired style, women flat ironed their beautiful curls into submission. (Guilty.) When ultra low became the default rise for jeans, “muffin top” entered the vernacular, and thongs regularly saw the light of day.  Luckily, as with all fads, these trends have come and gone, making way for new styles that we will one day look back on and utter the familiar phrase, “What was I thinking?”

Remarkably, the only constant in the ever evolving fashion industry is the one aspect that truly needs to change: the emaciated model. Fashion is a multi-billion dollar industry, and yet some models look like they should be featured in an advertisement showcasing malnutrition in third world countries, not high fashion designs.

The topic of underweight models is nothing new. It is an issue that makes international headlines year in and year out. Whenever a model shocks the world with a skeletal appearance, or worse, succumbs to an eating disorder, there is a call to action for the fashion industry to take aim at underweight models whose gaunt figures are perpetuating unhealthy and unrealistic standards of beauty. Most fashion magnates and magazines concede the problem and vow to change their standards for models. However, after the initial uproar dies down, the fashion industry quietly returns to the status quo.

Fed up with this cycle, Israel passed legislation in March issuing a ban on the use of underweight fashion models in Israeli advertising. Models must now submit a medical report confirming they have a body mass index of at least 18.5 (below which an individual is considered to be malnourished) in order to be certified to work.

Earlier this week, Vogue announced a similar, albeit less stringent, measure. In a cooperative effort, the 19 editors of Vogue magazines across the globe entered into a pact to “not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder.”

Will Vogue’s vaguely worded pact be the necessary catalyst to finally eliminate malnourished models from the fashion world?  Or is Vogue’s ability to truly make a difference as slim as the models in their magazines?

As with everything in fashion, only time will tell.

Rethinking Shavuot: Women, Relationships & Jewish Texts

By Deborah Rosenbloom, JWI Director of Programs

Just in time for your Shavuot study groups and celebrations, JWI is releasing the second in a series of study guides related to women, relationships, and Jewish texts, designed to spark new conversations by offering a fresh look at old texts.

Rethinking Shavuot is designed thematically to highlight the centrality of three ways to journey toward safety and well-being: living in a community, doing incremental acts of kindness and envisioning a different future. It combines text from the biblical story of Ruth, the heroine of this holiday, with traditional and contemporary commentaries and prompts for conversations.

The guide is designed for use in both formal and informal settings including synagogues, study groups, book clubs, or simply, a group of friends. Please download the guide from our website and share it with friends and colleagues.

We welcome your comments and feedback.

Visiting a Shelter

By Beth Sloan, JWI Board of Trustees

Leonard and Beth Sloan present a plaque at the dedication of JWI's 42 children's library.

Perhaps the most rewarding experience I have had since joining JWI’s Board of Trustees occurred last week when my husband and I had the opportunity to visit The Lodge, a battered women’s shelter in Miami, to dedicate the newest addition to our National Library Initiative.  It was my first experience at a shelter, and further opened my eyes to the needs and complicated issues of providing safety, security and a hopeful future to victims of domestic violence.

I was most impressed by the dedication and efforts of the staff of the shelter, and the caring and professionalism with which they approached their mission.  Seeing the small room which we dedicated as a library to provide a safe haven for the youngest victims of domestic violence – its bright and cheerful carpet, the inviting adult and child-size rocking chairs and the already bulging bookshelf  – made us feel as joyful as the youngest shelter residents who were invited to begin using it while we were there.  Without question this room will become their safe and comfortable place to read, learn and grow.  And when they find a new home, they will be able to take books with them to begin building their own library.

Children rush to explore the books in their new library.

Like more than 12 others so far, this library was made possible with the generous support of Verizon Wireless,  and there are more to come.  But the most incredible thing was that as I mentioned that this was the 42^nd library JWI has opened around the country, the COO of the shelter almost gasped!  She pointed out the coincidence in the fact that the shelter was the 42^nd one accredited to open in the State of Florida!  Is this beshert (fate)?

Glee on Domestic Violence

By Ann Rose Greenberg, JWI Marketing Coordinator

Though one in four women will be a victim of abuse in her lifetime, the issue doesn’t often rise to the surface in mainstream media. Just a glance at the twitter reaction to Chris Brown at this year’s Grammys shows us that more pop-culture coverage of violence against women is sorely needed.  So I was thrilled to see that this week’s episode of Glee – a show with more than 6 million viewers – stepped up and confronted the issue. Let’s talk about what they got right, and what else is important for you to know.

As Glee portrayed abuse…

• It can happen to anyone: Your friend, your sister, your high school football coach.
• After violent incidents, the abuser is often remorseful and apologetic.
• “But I love him,” is one of the most common reasons for staying in an abusive relationship; feeling that no one else will ever love you in another common tether.
• It often takes more than one attempt before a woman leaves for good.

More important things to know…

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE.
• The most dangerous time for an abused woman is right after she leaves. Murder and assault rates are much higher at this point.
• While moral support is very important, if someone confides in you that she is being abused, you should refer her to a trained professional who will know how to guide her out of her relationship safely.
• JWI has online resources to help you learn the facts about violence, find services, and understand the legal issues and protections available to domestic abuse victims.

I’m curious to see if they’ll extend this story line and how it will all play out. I hope Coach Beiste ends up in a safe situation.  And to end on an empowering note, here’s the song the girls sang to show Coach Beiste their support:

What Does Mother’s Day Mean to You?

This week our Mother’s Day Flower Project is in full swing! Hundreds of people across the country are making generous donations in honor of the special women in their lives, many with warm messages to accompany the card that JWI sends to honorees.  This project provides Mother’s Day flowers to women in battered women’s shelters across the United States, and also reminds each of us to take a moment to think about our mothers – and mothers who are less fortunate.  We asked Lyn Chasen, chair of the Mother’s Day Flower Project, to share her thoughts about her own mom. We hope you enjoy her heartfelt message:

If you haven’t already purchased a card for your mom, please do so today.

Send a message of support to the women who will receive our Mother’s Day flowers this year.